1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wet mop. More particularly, the invention relates to a wet mop having a self-contained wringer sleeve which is slidably movable along a mop handle to engage and wring liquid from a mop body located at one end of the mop handle.
2. Related Prior Art
There exist numerous types of mops in the art used to clean surfaces such as floors, the mops including twist mops, squeeze mops, ringer mops, etc. Each of these mops include a handle for supporting a mop head at one end thereof and additionally typically include means for removing liquid from the mop head.
In one such construction, a wringing tube or sleeve is mounted to the handle and is adapted to be slid over a mop head to wring or compress water therefrom. Further, the sleeve in one known prior art type device is configured to ensure a certain degree of resistance between the sleeve and the mop head to facilitate twisting, and preferably complete wringing, of the mop head. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,709,622 (Justis) shows providing inwardly extending ribs on a sleeve located between opposing longitudinal ends of the sleeve to facilitate engagement of the strands of a mop head. A further example of such a mop is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,338 (Yates et al.) which discloses a sleeve formed with a plurality of inwardly extending grooves extending along a substantial portion of the axial length of the sleeve and located between the opposing ends of the sleeve.
In other constructions of sleeves for squeezing a mop head, the sleeve is configured to provide a compression of the mop head to thereby compress water from the mop strands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,848 (Monahan) shows a housing for compressing the mop head wherein the housing is provided with a slit to permit the housing to movably overlap itself and change a mop head receiving surface area to compress water from the mop head. A further known construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,378 (Petner) which shows a sleeve including a plurality of rollers for engaging and wringing a mop head as the sleeve is moved longitudinally down over the mop head.
There is a continuing need to provide an improved means for wringing a mop head, and in particular, there is a continuing need for providing a self-contained wringer which is capable of efficiently manipulating a mop head to dispense liquid therefrom during a wringing operation of the mop head.
The present invention provides a mop including an elongated handle having opposing ends and a mop head located at one end of the handle and including a plurality of flexible strands defining a mop body. A sleeve is positioned on the mop handle and is supported for slidable movement in an axial direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle.
The sleeve comprises a tubular shell defined by inner and outer surfaces and including axially spaced, opposing first and second ends. The sleeve further comprises an upper grip portion and a lower mop head receiving portion wherein the inner surface of the grip portion is generally sized to be in close relation to the mop handle and provide a guide for guiding the sleeve in longitudinal movement, and the mop body receiving portion is sized to receive the flexible strands of the mop body.
The second end of the sleeve, at the lower end of the mop body receiving portion, is provided with an engagement portion for engaging the mop body and facilitating gripping and twisting of the mop strands during rotational movement of the sleeve relative to the handle. The engagement portion is preferably defined by engagement surfaces extending between the inner and outer surfaces of the sleeve, and most preferably are defined by cutout or slot portions extending axially inwardly from the second end of the sleeve. The slot portions are configured to facilitate engagement between the sleeve and mop strands wherein the mop strands will be engaged through the areas defined by the slot portions.
In addition, cooperating portions are provided between the handle and sleeve for permitting rotation of the sleeve relative to the handle in one direction and for preventing rotation of the sleeve in a second, opposite direction. The cooperating portions are defined by a pawl portion cooperating with a detent portion wherein in a preferred embodiment, the detent portion is defined by ribs extending longitudinally along the inner surface of the grip portion of the sleeve and the pawl portion is defined by resiliently biased pawl members which are preferably formed integrally with the mop head. The cooperating portions will be engaged with each other when the sleeve is located in a lower position covering the mop head, and the cooperating portions may be disengaged from each other by sliding the sleeve upwardly to separate the cooperating portions from each other.
The sleeve is preferably held in a raised position on the handle when not in use. This is accomplished by providing a generally cylindrical hand grip attached to the handle between the first and second ends thereof, which hand grip defines a gripping surface located radially outwardly from a surface of the handle. The inner surface of the grip portion of the sleeve defines a diameter which is substantially equal to or slightly less than the outer diameter of the hand grip whereby sliding the sleeve upwardly to engage the grip portion of the sleeve with the hand grip will result in frictional engagement of the sleeve with the hand grip.
Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.